What Hurts the Most: A Simanette Songfic
by UniqaChica
Summary: Simon and Jeanette both had things to say, but now it's too late.  Or is it?  Contains "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts and covered by Cascada.
1. Don't Tell Me to Calm Down!

(A/N: Okay, I would consider this my first official AATC fanfic. I have written some in the past, but it was all junk and it didn't really make any sense. So this is numero uno. I know the song is originally done by Rascal Flatts, but if you go on YouTube to listen to it while reading, please use the Cascada version (the candlelight mix if you can find it). I find it so much prettier sung by her.)

Summary: Simon and Jeanette both had things to say, but now it's too late. Or is it? Contains "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts and covered by Cascada.

What Hurts the Most

A Simon/Jeanette Fanfic

by Jill Diamond

~Chapter One~

Alvin opened the door. There stood the Chipettes all huddled together, as usual, but with Eleanor in front instead of Brittany. Hers and Jeanette's faces where somber and stone-like, and Eleanor's was happy and awkward at the same time.

"Hey, girls," the eldest munk greeted, skeptical about the girl's faces.

"Hi, Alvin. Can we come in?" Eleanor, being the spokesperson.

"Sure." He led the girls into the living room, where Theodore was sitting on the couch watching TV. But as he noted the flash of teal in the corner of his eye, his attention was directed to it.

"Eleanor! Girls!" he said, getting up and embracing his girlfriend.

"Hi, Teddy," she started to say as the hug came to a close. "Um, can we talk in private, for a minute?" she inquired as she tucked a stray lock of platinum blond hair behind her ear. She awkwardly motioned to the boys' room.

"Sure!". He led her up the stairs, as Alvin made the notion for the girls to sit down on the old couch.

"So...what's up with you girls, lately?" Alvin, trying to make light conversation. He was currently on Brittany's good side and didn't want to make a comment about their faces.

"Oh, a lot...trust me." said Brittany. Alvin couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. But a somewhat real smile had actually cracked. Jeanette just sat there in silence.

Simon walked down from upstairs, as the youngest siblings had kicked him out.

"Jeanette!" he exclaimed, happy to see her.

"Hi..." she replied, under her breath. She got up to greet him in a friendly embrace, as usual, but she didn't have that sparkle in her eye and did it much more slowly.

"So, what's up?" Simon asked, feeling the room just lightened up.

"ALVIN! SIMON!" Theodore shouted from the balcony upstairs. He started running down the stairs with Eleanor at his heels.

"Theodore, don't!" she scolded him.

"Theodore, calm down!" said Alvin, stopping his little brother at the base step before he ran into something.

"Teddy, don't tell them anything!" Eleanor shouted.

"Don't you 'Teddy' me!" Theodore turned around on his heel, now facing the blond. Everyone else looked shocked. Never had Theodore ever talked like that to anyone. _Especially _Eleanor.

"Guys, the Chipettes are moving!".

"To where, Malibu?" Alvin said, lightly. Brittany slapped him on the back of the head.

"_Florida_, you idiot! _FLORIDA!_".

Simon was watching Jeanette's every move out of the corner of his eye. Every time someone said "Florida" or "moving", she flinched and made it look even more like she was going to cry. He felt her pain.

Theodore went on as Alvin and Eleanor tried to calm him down.

"We're never gonna see them again, and we won't go to school with them, and we're going to be all alone, and who's gonna be my partner at the big Clam Bake Cook-Off next year? Not Alvin, I'll tell ya that!".

"Hey!"

Jeanette was on the verge of breaking down. She started breathing heavily and both hands were up at her mouth. Simon tried to put his arms around her to comfort her, but that only made her sob more, and she ran into the bathroom, spinning Simon around in the process. He just stared, dumbfounded as she shut the door.

It was the day of the girl's departure. Everyone was sad. Especially Theodore. Dave had to grab a box of tissues from inside he was crying so much. Everyone hugged everyone. Jeanette took in each boy's specific traits.

When Jeanette hugged Theodore, she noticed he held tightly. Maybe he was just sad to see them go.

Alvin put his arm around Jeanette's neck and patted her back with the other hand. Supposedly trying to be tough-guy.

Simon was a whole different can of worms. He held Jeanette so gently, as if she was made of porcelain. He rung his finger around a small curl of her hair, then let it be. Jeanette also noticed a small motion in his face. Did he gulp, or bite his lip, or what? Jeanette took in that last whiff of that familiar smell of his sweater. Fabric softener with warm spices, and a little bit of deodorant. To anyone else, it was just a smell. But to Jeanette, it was Simon.

Miss Miller wasn't phased a bit. She just ushered the girls into her little pink convertible, babbling out loud if she remembered the directions to the airport or not. Theodore's wailing could be heard down the block by now. He watched Eleanor and the others be driven away.

Simon looked too. Though he didn't want to, he looked. He followed that little pink car all the way to where it turned. And even then, he still stood there. It wasn't until dinnertime, when Dave called him in, that he finally moved. Or realized that he had been standing there, motionless.

The whole ride to the airport, Jeanette just stared at the passing scenery and refused to talk. But she was having a brutal verbal war in her mind.

_You should have just told him! Now it's clear you'll never be together!_

_Even if I had told him, that wouldn't have stopped us from moving._

_You would have had him while you could! And at least he would have known how you felt! Now he's probably going to go date some other girl and _they'll _live happily ever after._

_We were too good friends, it would've just ruined it._

_How do you know he didn't feel the same way?_

Jeanette squinted her eyes shut, trying to block out the voices inside her head, but it didn't stop the tears from falling down her face. She bit on the edge of her sweater sleeve. Now she'll never know if Simon felt the same way about her...

"Jeanette?" Eleanor asked, as she was sitting right next to her. "Are you okay?"

Jeanette didn't answer. She just planted her palms onto her wet eyes and cried harder.

"Just leave her alone, Ellie," Miss Miller told her. "She's probably just upset that we're moving."

Eleanor didn't ask Jeanette again, but she often gave her looks of worry that Jeanette never saw, for she was too busy crying into her sleeves.

(A/N: Wow, Chapter One was short. Don't worry, the other three will be longer, trust me. Now, we get to the song part of the songfic!)


	2. Piano in the Rain

~Chapter Two~

It was a very rainy day in Miami. The girls had been unpacking for three days and it still seemed like the pile of boxes would never end. One thing that was unpacked (though it's not like it was in a box to begin with) was the old piano on which the girls did most of their practicing. Jeanette had refused to help pack. Practically all she did since they had gotten there was sit on the piano's bench and stare out the window, mostly to get lost in the rain.

Miss Miller didn't nag on Jeanette for not helping; she knew what the petite brunette was going through. Every time she walked through the room she just gave a little sigh and looked at her "daughter" with sympathy, then would quickly go back to what she was doing.

On this day, they had unpacked a small battery radio. They had set it on top of the piano and set it to a reasonably good station. A little music seemed to make the work much less grueling. When Jeanette was the only one in the room, the current song had ended and the deejay's voice came through the small gray box.

"_Alright everybody, now a great hit from a favorite of all of us: Alvin and the Chipmunks!_"

A strong drum beat and guitar riff started out the song. Jeanette quickly reached over and muted the volume before Simon's voice could be heard, and the horribly confused emotions would come back and destroy her.

In the process of turning off the radio, her other hand had gently brushed over the piano keys, creating a melancholy tune. Jeanette was intrigued by this, and started to finger the keys absentmindedly. Before she knew it, she was playing a very sweet, yet lonely melody. A song that she knew well. It was a song that she had heard so much that singing along to it was almost a reflex. She sung very quietly, though, for she didn't want her sisters or Miss Miller hearing.

"_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house;_

_that don't bother me._

_I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out..._

_I'm not afraid to cry_

_every once_

_in a while, _

_even though_

_going on _

_with you gone_

_still upsets me._

_There are days,_

_every now_

_and again,_

_I pretend_

_I'm okay,_

_but that's not what gets me._

_What hurts the most_

_was being so close,_

_and having so much to say_

_and watching you walk away,_

_And never knowing_

_what could've been,_

_and not seeing that loving you_

_is what I was trying to do..."_

Jeanette abruptly removed her hands from the keys and placed them on top of the piano, cushioning her head as she cried again.

"Simon," she whispered to herself through her sobs.

Brittany and Eleanor, who were peeking in from the next room, exchanged a silent look of sympathy for their lovestruck sister. They wished there was something they could do.

Suddenly, Brittany's cell phone began to ring. She and Eleanor now exchanged looks of alarm at the loud volume. Even Jeanette heard it, for now her shaking back held still.

Brittany went into the bathroom and closed the door behind her before answering.

"Hello?"

"_Britt? It's Alvin,_"

(A/N: Dun dun dunnn...! Ha! Okay, I lied. This chapter's pretty short too. But I will try to make them longer, I promise!)


	3. Guitar in the Sun

~Chapter Three~

Ever since the Chipettes had left, Simon had secluded himself in the room he shared with his brothers, only coming out when food was required. Alvin and Theodore had begun to worry about him, and they were constantly trying to get him to at least go outside and get some fresh air. But nothing worked.

Simon always tried to keep himself occupied by reading. He had practically gone through every book in the house at this point, and the girls had only been gone three days.

"_I took another sip from the glass. That's when I saw her, emerging from behind the door like a lost sheep. She was tall, like me, and had a very slim frame. Her hair like silk chocolate, tumbling down from her head, and her eyes were as green as the Everglades."_

Simon closed the book abruptly, as well as his eyes. Everything reminded him of her. It was like a disease. He tossed the book to his side, slipped off his glasses, and gently massaged the bridge of his nose. She had slipped through his fingers, like sand on the beach. She had been so close, all Simon had to do was make a move. He had tried to the day she left. But he had not, and now it was too late.

He turned himself on his side, and spotted the acoustic guitar peeking out from under Alvin's bed. Maybe a little music would set his mind at ease.

Simon picked it up and started to pluck a few chords. He cringed at the sound. After nearly thirty minutes of tuning, he had become even more stressed. But when he strummed and heard the beautiful sound waft from the strings, he knew those thirty minutes had been worth it.

Before he knew it, he was fingering the frets and plucking the strings to a familiar tune, one that really seemed to fit his mood at that point.

"_It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go,_

_but I'm doing it._

_It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone..._

_It's still harder._

_Getting up,_

_getting dressed,_

_living with_

_this regret._

_But I know_

_If I could do it over_

_I would trade,_

_give away,_

_all the words_

_that I saved_

_in my heart_

_that I left unspoken._

_What hurts the most_

_was being so close,_

_and having so much to say_

_and watching you walk away..._

_And never knowing_

_what could have been,_

_and not seeing that loving you_

_is what I was trying to do..."_

Simon released his grip on the guitar when he realized what he had just sang. Shaking his head, he placed the guitar back where it had been, and then sandwiched his head between his two blue pillows, groaning in the process.

"Jeanette," he whispered to himself.

Alvin and Theodore had been peeking in through the door once they had heard the music. They exchanged looks with each other, Theodore unsure of what to do, but Alvin feeling sorry that Simon had not understood his feelings until just now.

"I'll be right back," he whispered to Theodore with a pat on the back. Sliding down the banister in a very "Alvin" way, he made his way to the downstairs phone. He punched in a number that on which he received many dates and many break-ups.

"_Hello?_"

"Britt? It's Alvin. We need to talk."

"_What about?_"

"Simon and Jeanette. Ever since you guys left, he's been moping around and singing sad songs."

"_Same with Jeanette! You should have heard her just now on the piano!_"

"Well, the moping can stop now, 'cause I have an idea."

"_Call it a sane person's intuition, but I can tell I'm not gonna like this._"

"Trust me, this will work. Now, first, I want you to call the airport..."

(A/N: Another cliffhanger! I know, I'm devious. But not as devious as Alvin. Trust me.)


	4. Those Crazy Kids

~Chapter Four~

"What were you thinking?"

"Have you lost your mind?"

"You nearly scared me half to death!"

"You are in so much trouble, young lady!"

Dave and Miss Miller were making quite a scene in the Wichita Airport. All of the other people had created a dead silence, only to amplify the parents' overlapping lectures. Alvin and Theodore were huddled to one side, and Brittany and Eleanor to another. Simon and Jeanette were planted in two seats directly in front of their adoptive parents, eyes to their laps, but hands intertwined. Their cheeks were visibly burning, but the shared tiny smiles.

Alvin and Brittany had arranged for the two bespectacled lovers (along with their respective siblings) to meet halfway and catch planes to Wichita, Kansas. As if by fate, their flights had landed at the exact same time, and when their eyes met at the gate, all they could do was run into each other's arms and start a very public make-out session. They hadn't planned on it; it had just happened. They had both gotten what they so desperately wanted, and they didn't even have to say a word. They didn't care what happened to them now. No length of grounding could bring them back down from the heaven they had seemed to imprison each other in.

Unfortunately, Dave and Miss Miller had caught quick wind of their children's objectives, and got tickets on the very same flights. Unfortunately, they had used their real names, and (what with their pop culture status) the airline had insisted on giving them first class seats. Alvin and Brittany, on the other hand, had used fake names, which enabled everyone else to ride in coach, avoiding detection on the plane.

Their parents oblivious, Brittany and Theodore had switched places behind them, and now boyfriends were cuddling girlfriends.

"You know," Brittany whispered, "even though they're going to get grounded until they get walkers, this was actually a pretty good plan."

"I knew it would work all along!" Alvin replied in a pompous tone. Brittany rolled her light blue eyes and kissed Alvin on the cheek playfully.

_The End_

(A/N: I think I am a compulsive liar. I told you I would try to make the chapters longer and I didn't. Well, there wasn't much dialogue in the last chapter, so it really couldn't be helped! Well, if you liked it, yay! If not, boo. Jill out.)


End file.
